The waiting game was agonizing. Any minute Shiro could've shown up with any number of members to have a shootout with Lotor's people.

Keith was surrounded by them, and it was absolutely sickening.

" You might as well just kill me now." He tried to tell Lotor. " My brother isn't stupid enough to bring everyone here over one person." Keith chuckled, hoping just to annoy the living shit out of Lotor. He wasn't going to let anyone enjoy kidnapping him.

" You and I both know that's not true." Lotor yawned, playing with his switchblade. " And once they're here, they'll be decimated."

" Fuck you." Keith spat.

" Woah, woah... don't make me get the duct tape. Such a potty mouth." Lotor shook his head, clicking his tongue.

Keith growled at him, beginning to struggle in the chair he'd been bound to.

This would be bloody. He knew full well that Shiro had most likely called a family meeting and had people racing to Lotor's mansion right that very second.

Lotor noticed the marks all over Keith's neck.

" James, what did you do to him? Those bruises look pretty... fresh." He asked one of the guards.

" They're hickeys you dumb fuck." Keith spat.

Lotor chuckled, brushing it off.

" I'll make sure to kill your girlfriend when she shows up with the rest of them." He smirked.

Keith burst out laughing.

" What? What's so funny?" Lotor narrowed his eyes.

Keith continued obnoxiously cackling.

" I'm gay, dumbass." He sputtered, not bothering to contain his laughter.

Lotor deadpanned.

" Get the duct tape." He told Kinkade, getting up and walking for the door.

...

Lance's car was speeding and running red lights left and right as he raced toward Lotor's mansion. It was 2:45 in the morning, meaning that if they didn't hurry up, Keith was as good as dead.

" Lance, slow down!" Hunk exclaimed from the passenger seat. It was always a serious situation when even he came with.

" No!" Lance hollered, pressing the gas and taking a turn recklessly fast.

" We can't save Keith if you kill us on the way there!" Pidge yelled.

Lance was about to retort something until he saw Shiro's car blow past his own. Okay. He had to keep up.

" This is all my fault!" Lance cried. " He can't die because of me!"

" What are you talking about?" Matt shouted to be heard over the engine's roar.

" What Matt said! How is any of this your fault?!" Pidge added.

" I left him alone! I didn't stay!" Lance growled.

" Stay?" Hunk looked scared yet puzzled.

Lance stomped on the gas as they sped up Lotor's driveway. The large gates had been left open for the entourage of cars to zoom through. They were about a hundred feet away from the mansion as the tires skid.

" Let's go!" Lance yelled, grabbing one of his hand guns and cocking it.

" Wait, what's your plan?!" Pidge frantically asked. " We can't just go charging in there without-"

Lance was already getting out of the car and slamming the door. He approached the building with his gun drawn. Somehow he was met with Shiro coming up by him, standing shoulder to shoulder.

Those two were in the front of the pack as people began following in their paths.

" Be safe." Shiro told Lance under his breath.

Lance had a very serious expression on his face as the two neared the front entrance. It just screamed 'don't fuck with me.'

" I'll try." He responded in a rushed tone.

...

Keith slouched in the chair, not even bothering to try and get free anymore. He figured that there wasn't much point.

The room was relatively quiet at first.

James and Kinkade stood guarding Keith while a few other gang members conversed in the corner and warmed up.

Keith had been there long enough to figure out some names. What else was there to do besides eavesdrop?

The short girl in the very corner was named Acxa, and she seemed to not talk much. Then there were the boisterous buddies of hers, named Ezor and Zethrid. Keith could've sworn that those two were gay together. They hadn't outright done anything to prove it, but he had a hunch.

Then there were a bunch of bigger, tougher guys over in the center of the room. He'd heard the name Sendak, and a few other weird ones that Keith had forgotten over the course of sitting there.

Keith sat up with wide eyes when he heard gunshots ring out from somewhere else in the mansion.

Everyone seemed to spring into action, and a few of them even seemed excited while bounding from the room. Who the hell enjoyed getting shot at?

Shiro had really brought people with and risked the family for him?! Keith was pissed. He wasn't worth it, or so he told himself.

Everyone besides James and Kinkade were gone from the room, leaving Keith there with a rapid heartbeat and two guards. Every shot he heard could've been a potential death sentence for anyone in the family.

He immediately thought about Lance, and got especially worried over him. Keith knew that Shiro could handle himself in a fight, but he'd never seen Lance fight. Was he even any good?

...

Lance and Matt were the ones who managed to make it past the main area of fire first. Everyone else had taken cover behind something and continued shooting at Lotor's people.

" We have to find him." Lance told Matt as they sleuthed through the kitchen. They stayed hidden behind the counter, crawling and making sure the coast was clear before darting across the dining room.

Neither of them had any idea how the layout of the mansion looked. But did that stop them? Hell no. Keith needed help.

Lance felt guilt weighing in his chest.

He'd left him.

They'd had sex, great sex, and he hadn't even stayed. Granted that Keith had told him to go back to his own room, but Lance listened to him. And for that, he hated himself. If he had stayed, he could've helped fight off whoever took Keith.

Gunshots were constantly firing off in the background as the two zipped through the numerous rooms.

" Lance, what were you trying to say earlier?" Matt asked him while the two used a wall for cover.

Lance sighed.

" Keith and I had sex... and after I left... someone took him." He looked down.

" That's not your fault." Matt assured.

" It doesn't matter. We have to get him back." Lance shook his head, trying to focus.

What even was Keith to him anyhow?

He wasn't just some guy who he fucked sometimes. He was... more. Lance shooed away the thoughts as the two continued through the extravagant house. The thoughts followed him everywhere, though. He couldn't rid himself of them.

Lance wouldn't have been able to live with himself if Keith got killed. He'd watched too many people die to see another one go right in front of him. His family, his friends, they'd fallen. He couldn't watch Keith meet the same fate, especially when he had the power to do something about it.

...

Part of Shiro wondered why Lotor had chosen to bring Keith to the mansion. It was pretty much inviting his home to get wrecked by bullets and blood. But whatever.

He hated the thought of killing people, of having to take someone else's privilege to breathe, to see, to live. It wasn't right.

But Shiro pushed his feelings down and suppressed them. Lotor had to die. That way everyone else around him could stop dying, and everybody could've lived in peace.

" Look who decided to show up." Lotor said from the top of the stairs. He'd gone up there to avoid the brunt of the fight, hoping that Shiro might get him alone.

" Where's my brother?!" Shiro exclaimed, keeping his gun pointed at him.

Lotor held a gun, but he didn't raise it.

" Like I'd tell you that." He responded, knowing that Shiro probably wouldn't have the guts to shoot him.

Shiro backed him into the hallway, keeping a steady aim at Lotor's chest. He could've pulled the trigger right then, could've put a stop to all of it.

But he couldn't bring himself to as he trembled.

No matter how much Shiro hated him, he wouldn't let Lotor reduce him into a murderer.

" What? Only your minions can do your dirty work?" Lotor scoffed. " Shoot me!"

Shiro had a pained expression on his face while holding the handgun tighter.

" Shoot me!" Lotor yelled louder.

Shiro growled and tossed his gun aside while lunging at Lotor and taking him to the ground. The two rolled around while Lotor ditched his gun as well.

" Where is he?!" Shiro screamed at the top of his lungs.

Lotor had the mentality of a teenager plagued with angst. He was twenty, yet he acted like he was a toddler when he threw temper tantrums like this.

Shiro had been the only person who ever tried to help him.

But then he'd taken it all away and kicked him out of the only family he'd ever known.

...

Lance and Matt had finally found the room after searching for what felt like an eternity. Keith looked bitter, yet still terrified as he sat bound to the chair.

Lance poked his head in slowly, trying to gauge the situation. Shiro would've been pissed at him if he killed the two guards there. He'd always said that whenever possible, disable the opponent as opposed to killing them.

Keith perked up when he saw Lance. There was a little part of his heart that fluttered, but the other parts were enraged that he'd gotten dragged into this by Shiro.

Lance brought a finger to his lips, wanting to make sure that he didn't tip off the guys standing there.

Kinkade and James were wrapped up in a conversation about football, and they'd gotten so into it that they didn't notice Lance or Matt.

" Do you have a taser or stun gun?" Lance whispered to Matt.

" A taser." Matt responded almost inaudibly and took off the drawstring bag he'd been wearing. He handed it to Lance.

" I'll sneak up behind them if you distract them from that doorway." Lance gestured, and Matt nodded while circling around with his gun drawn.

Lance nodded to Keith, as if to tell him that help was coming. He growled to himself quietly, wanting to rip those guys apart for even touching the smaller boy. The only one who was allowed to touch Keith was him.

Once Matt started making noise outside, James and Kinkade made their way to the doorway. Lance took his chance, sprinting up and going for Kinkade with the taser. He was the bigger, more threatening looking one.

" What the hell?!" James exclaimed, and Kinkade fell to the floor. Lance punched James square in the face before he could draw his gun.

Keith watched in awe. Okay. It was totally the wrong time for him to be thinking about how hot Lance was. But since when had that ever stopped him?

Matt rushed in while Lance was taking care of James. He pulled out a pocket knife, sawing away at the rope that was holding him in place.

" We've got you, buddy." Matt assured, and once the ropes around his arms and chest were gone, Keith ripped off the duct tape from his mouth. He took a few deep breaths, trying to get some much needed air.

Matt also got the ropes off of Keith's ankles, which had been tightly tied together.

Lance and James struggled in the background until Lance finally delivered a blow to knock him out cold. He stood up, wiping a dribble of blood from his nose.

Keith got up, dusting himself off.

Lance's scowl lifted when he saw Keith freed from the chair. He rushed over, sweeping the shorter boy into a hug.

Keith's eyes went wide, but he wrapped his arms around Lance to return it.

" You're safe." Lance whispered, pressing a kiss on Keith's lips.

Matt cleared his throat, coughing a little.

" Guys... we need to get out of here." He said awkwardly.

Lance raised a finger to Matt as if to tell him what he was doing was more important. He kissed him a little more, and Keith blushed immensely.

That was really new. Lance had never gotten like that with him in front of people.

" We're going to get you out of here." Lance told him, leaning their foreheads together.

Keith could only wonder what the hell was happening, and how things had escalated so quickly.

" Just give me a gun." He chuckled.

Lance smiled, handing him one of the pistols he'd brought.

" We have to get everyone back to the cars." Matt said, and Lance and Keith nodded while they all fled from the room.

He and Lance would have some serious talking to do. Keith was pissed that they'd even come to save him, and that more people ran the risk of getting killed because of it. But at the same time, he admired Lance for what he'd done.

Keith had a slight limp, and lagged behind Lance and Matt as they darted out of there.

Lance turned over his shoulder once he noticed, and they all took cover behind a wall.

" Are you sure you can walk out of here on your own?" He purred down the smaller boy's neck.

It definitely wasn't the time or place for that.

" Shut up. We have to leave before anyone gets killed because of me." Keith seriously said. Lance smirked at him, silently telling him to say what he really meant.

" You two can discuss whatever this is later." Matt cut in. " Let's give the signal to retreat."

...

Shiro and Lotor had eventually been pried away from their scuffle, and both of them were still alive. There had been a fair amount of punching from both sides, and both of them looked pretty worse for the wear.

Once Shiro and everyone else had seen Lance, Matt, and Keith get out the door and into the driveway, it was their signal to retreat.

His brother had made it out, Shiro smiled in relief, though it hurt his bruised cheeks to do so.

There was gunfire that was trying to follow them on the way out, and Pidge and Shiro were the only ones left inside. She guarded, shooting more and hitting one of Lotor's people in the arm. He fell over, hissing and clutching it.

Shiro stopped her before she could shoot again.

" Get out of here!" He told her, but then got confused as Lotor's people fled back into the house. They didn't even take their injured member with them, only left him there. Shiro had every opportunity to shoot him and finish it. But once he saw the shattered glasses, and the look of betrayal on the other male's face, he couldn't bring himself to do it.

" What are you doing?!" The guy yelled at Shiro while he proceeded to help him up. He didn't know if it was pity that made him do it, but who was supposed to help him if the other gang was retreating?

And that was how Shiro ended up taking one of Lotor's members from the scene.

Little did he know... that man would change his life as he knew it.

After carrying the guy and getting him in the backseat of one of their cars, they sped off.

" Why did you do that?!" The man exclaimed. " Why didn't you kill me?!"

Shiro was a fixer. Shiro helped people.

" What's your name?" He asked, moving to help put pressure on the wound on his bicep. Everyone else in the back of the car was beyond confused, but didn't question Shiro.

The tan skinned, shattered glasses wearing guy made a face.

" Adam..."

(( *blows smoke* Adam!))